The Britsh Way: Irish Rose
by Whisper's Song
Summary: HPs a gentlemen who hates love. Lady GW is a Madam looking to change her ways. Ginny falls for him, but Harrys heard of her past! He wants nothing to do with her even though he can feel sparks. Can she convince him that she's changed? HPGW
1. London to Scotland

**A/N:** Enjoy!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything of the Harry Potter brand.

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**London, England, 1810**

The ship came to a stop shortly after quater past three Harry Potter noticed as he checked his pocket watch. _Very good time for the ship indeed_ Harry thought waiting in room 334 of the ship's first class area. After sending directions to the staff to take his belongings down in five minutes he took one last glance around. It seemed ship rooms were his home now. He was constantly travelling to new markets and new opportunities. He quickly made his way down the dock and past the crowd of people out in front to greet loved ones. Harry felt a pang of sadness as he watched the crowds of people embrace each other. His parents had died early on, in a train accident when he was an infant being watched by relatives. He would never have anyone to meet him at the docks he reflected sadly as he hailed a coach and directed a ship hand who had his luggage. He could hear whispers of people as he past them and the brave ones called out a hello to him. Harry nodded to them and began to walk faster along the deck, eager to meet his friend.

Harry Potter was very well known throughout most of the modern world. When his parents died Harry inherited every cent his parents had amassed in their short lives, putting him on the social map practically at birth. Not to mention as a young man he had a knack for business and stocks. Harry Potter wasn't just rich, he was _very_ rich. Every girl between Scotland and Asia wanted him because money was the lifeblood for survival. Sure he didn't have a title but he was handsome, wealthy, and any woman married to him would be the toast of the social reason. The glances continued through the carriage window as he sat waiting to be driven to his destination. He never did like attention much and instead found comfort in travelling to places where people didn't know him. Not to mention he never had parents to shower him with attention with affection. The carriage pulled up to 18 Street, house 28. It was a nice sized house, white brick, plenty of windows and two stories. Harry knocked twice on the door and the door was opened to reveal a grinning red headed boy.

"Harry!" he exclaimed. "I wasn't expecting you till six!"

"I'm just as surprised as you are Ron." Harry said, entering the house, his luggage next to him in the carpet. "Boats, you never know what to expect." he said simply as ron nodded. They went to Ron's sitting room. Ron had done quite well himself, taking part in various business ventures that led him to own shares in big stores and he wrote about his adventures in Scotland on the side.

"Exactly, I once visited mum in Scotland and it took an extra two days! Good thing I got my money back." he paused. "It's good to see you Harry, it's been what? A year? What have you been doing?" he asked as he poured them some whiskey from a cabinet into two glass tumblers.

"Work mostly. The stocks are the best they've been in ten years, you have to watch them, hopefully they'll stay that way." Ron laughed giving Harry his drink and sitting down.

"Harry you don't need any more money, why don't you find some nice lass to settle down with?" Harry shook his head. Once upon a time he had dreamed of finding a nice girl to marry and have a family with. He craved a stable family life that he never had as a child. Yet the money and the fame made it difficult for him to find anyone interesting. Someone who wasn't after his money or wouldn't use him to step up in society. All the girls seemed to be the same factory made mold. They were pretty, politely funny, and had no spark what so ever. If they were passionate about anything he guessed it would be about their hair.

"I want love, not some one who wants my money. I am perfectly fine alone." Ron gave him a look. "I don't see you with anyone." Harry pointed out and Ron couldn't respond to that remark.

"We're not talking about me, we're talking about you." Harry rolled his eyes. Time to move onto another topic.

"What about you Ron? What have you been doing this past year?"

"The trade has been good with Weasley's new products and I travelled a bit to the indies to see if a shop there would be good." Ron said simply. Then it turned to silence, but not the strange silence that causes you think of something, anything to say. But simply a silence of the two childhood friends enjoying that they were reunited. It didn't matter if it was silence of chatter, they knew what the other was thinking. They both held up their glasses.

"Welcome back Harry."

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**Meanwhile in Scotland...**

Ginny kicked out yet another man out of her house. She shook the purse that held the coins he had given her.

"Damn it! Cheated again, I am counting the coins next time." she muttered under her breath as she closed the door. She stormed to her sitting room, where her friends Lily and Georgia sat.

"I was cheated." Ginny said to them throwing the coins onto the table, they nodded understandingly. She collasped into a chair as it started to rain. She looked out the window as she saw the young man getting into a carriage. He would go home and brag to his friends of how that pretty little red head down the way had given a good time. The friends would come and the cycle would start again. Ginny had been doing this for five years. She didn't remember what made her a madam. Her family at the time was very poor. They were about to lose the house and when a group of scanty clad girls approached her, she tried to run away but they said they had heard of her family's money trouble and that they knew a way out. Ginny being young and naive at the time, asked them what, she was desperate after all. And she was introduced into a world she wished she had stayed out of. She had sold her virginity for 50 pounds the next week. At the time to her it was a lot. With that money her family kept her house. When asked about it, she simply said a friend owed her a favor. Yet once she had been in that world once, it wasn't about to just let her go. So it continued from there. Once her mother had found out, she had disowned her. She never knew _why_ Ginny had done what she did, she only knew her daughter had turned into an embaressment to the family and thrown her out. Ginny kept offering her services because she didn't know what else to do, she was penniless and stuck in the Scottish coutryside. She didn't care how others whispered about her when they thought she was out of hearshot. She didn't care how all the gentlemen in the town winked at her or looked at her up and down. She ignored them. The more business she did, the higher she rised in rank, eventually becoming a madam, the highest of them all. It was fun for a while actually, but now it was boring. Reality was setting in after all this time. She had no prospects here and she certainly didn't have the money to go out on her own. She recalled a conversation she had had in this very sitting room.

"Ever wondered about leaving?" Ginny had asked Georgia.

"Many times, but how can you escape the whispers? The money is too good to give up. The world is somewhat addictive to be honest." Georgia confessed. She had that right Ginny agreed. The combined total of all of the girls easily paid off the house and food every week.

Ginny sighed and turned away from the window.

"I'm going to get some sleep, you can stay here till the rain stops." The girls nodded as Ginny went up the stairs. Ginny envied the girls who had their own houses to escape to while she had to stay at the headquarters of it all. She was about to crawl into bed when she remembered last night. She shivered and then decided to rest in her guest room until she could get her sheets cleaned.

She wanted so badly to get away from the life she had. Yet she didn't know how to escape, who would take her in? Then she came to think of her brother, Ron. He knew she was a madam, but they exchanged letters regulary. She knew he wasn't exactly proud of her, but he knew that he only had one sister. A plan began to form in her head. She could leave Scotland for England and stay with Ron, she had enough money to stay somewhere else if needed for a couple days. Not to mention she was sure Hermione would take her in if needed. She smiled and reached over to get her stationary and started to pen a letter to her brother.

Ginny recieved a reply within the week, Ron had said she could stay with him! She quickly packed her belongings and left a note for the other girls who would come looking for her in the morning for their assignments. She quietly slipped out of town near dusk and caught a boat that would take her to London and she would arrive in a couple days. She smiled as a burst of salt air hit her face and saw Scotland becoming smaller and smaller with each passing second and thought excitedly.

_London here I come!_


	2. I Chose You

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who reviewed!

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**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything of the Harry Potter brand.

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**En Route to London**

Ginny inhaled the salt water air and scurried to fix her hair that had become disleveled from the various winds. She knew her image of herself to Ron wasn't the best but she was determined to show she was serious about changing. In her mind she guessed it was only a matter of hours before she would meet Ron at the dock, and she resisted to urge to break into a grin. She was finally getting the chance to start over, after all this time...

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**London, England**

"Harry!" Ron called as he called his friend. Eventually Harry's head popped out of a door.

"Yes?" Ron was a bit nervous, having to tell your best friend your sister was of a questionable past and that she was going to stay in the same house as you wasn't the easiest thing to do.

"Surely you remember my sister Ginny? She was behind a year usin finishing school?" he asked, and Harry thought a moment.

"I think so...why?" Harry said.

"Well she's going to be staying here for a while, and I wanted to make sure it was alright with you." Ron explained and Harry chuckled.

"Of course, I never did meet your sister properly. But why ask if it were alright with me?" Ron took a deep breath and offered Harry to sit down.

"You know that my family hasn't always been in such stable shape. It was a strain on the family to send all us children through finishing school. Five years ago, my mum and dad almost lost their house. But as you know, they didn't because Ginny gave them money. We wondered for the longest time where she got the money. No Harry she didn't steal it, but...um...well I don't know how to say it. I'm warning you in case you see everyone giving her strange looks." Ron took a moment. "Ginny's a Madam. Or was in any case." he said quickly. Harry was shocked to say the least.

"Your going to let a Madam stay here?" he asked in disbelief.

"It's my sister Harry, she's quitting. I swear, she has no one else to turn to. Mum disowned her a few years back. She won't cause any trouble at all." Ron pleaded. Harry sighed and looked Ron straight in the eye.

"Are you sure she's quitting for good? Not just moving to London for a bigger picking of men?"

"I know it." Ron answered with full confidence. After a moment Harry said,

"Well as long as she doesn't bother me..." Ron broke into a grin.

"She won't. Thank you for understanding. Ginny is a sweet girl, she just got turned onto the wrong path. You'll see once you meet her."

"I have to meet her?" Harry asked and then sighed. "Alright, fine. When does her ship come in?"

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Ginny scanned the crowd of faces as she descended the boat onto the dock. She quickly spotted the red hair of her brother. 

"Ron!" she cried, and threw her arms around him. He smiled, a bit unsurely and cautiously hugged her.Ginny pulled back quickly and was dissapointed at her brother's cautious approach. She thought her own brother would be even somewhat happy to see her."Or should I call you Mr. Weasely?" she offered coldly. It was Ron's turn to be taken aback.

"No need for such childish behavior Ginny." Ron scolded and she rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't even pretend you were even a bit happy to see you." she pointed out.

"I have a guest." Ron gritted out, trying to nod his head to Harry who was near the back of the crowd in order to give Ron and Ginny enough time to catch up.

"Harry Potter?" she asked. "Oh I know who he is, the whole bloody continent knows who he is!"

"No need to curse." Ron said.

"I'll do so if I want to." she said glaring at him. "Let's get to the carriage, I'm sure Mr. Potter will be waiting."and walked off.

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Harry wasn't ready for Ginny to just come toward him. He would admit, he expected her to be trash. After hearing her history, he was quite shocked to see her dressed quite nicely. She was dressed prim and proper in a dress that was supposely the latest fashion. Her hair was swept up high on her head. He would've never thought her a Madam, at all the way she looked just now. She went past him without a hello and straight into the carriage. He had barely time to register what he had seen before he saw an angry Ron come toward him, and quickly go after Ginny in the carriage. Harry, not exactly knowing what to do, followed suit. 

The carriage ride was mostly silence until Ginny mentioned

"Does Hermione Granger still live in the area?" Ron nodded.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I intend to call on her." she said matter-of-factly.

"You most certainly will not." Ron shot back. "Hermione has a good reputation, she wouldn't want it spoiled." Ginny laughed.

"She knows my history. As does Mr. Potter I'm guessing. You probably checked with him, didn't you Ron? To see if I was good enough to stay with him in the house." she then turned to Harry "We always use the term 'family' so loosely, I mean first Percy, then Fred and George, now me-"

"That's enough Ginny." Ron interrupted. Ginny gave him a cold glare.

"In any case Hermione was my friend in finishing school and saved me from dropping out. I was hoping to catch up. And you can't stop me really." she added with a sweet smile and turned to Harry.

"So Mr. Potter, Harry if I may call you that, how are you?"

"Mr. Potter is fine. I'm good." Harry answered shortly and cut off all other forms of conversation with her by talking to Ron. Ginny felt a pang of sadness in her heart, even though she didn't know why. Maybe it was because she hadn't been rejected by such a good looking boy in a while, but she didn't like this feeling. Taking looks at him, she found his bright green eyes fetching. She had never seen such eyes on anyone before, and his hair was a mess. She found herself wanting to smile, thinking it was adoreable. Then she suddenly came crashing to reality. What the hell was she thinking? This was Harry Potter.

Harry. Potter.

Harry-He's-Way-Out-Of-Your-League-And-He-Doesn't-Want-Anything-To-Do-With-You-Potter.

She had known who Harry was through school and later on the papers. She knew he was good looking, any girl with eyes could see that. But she supposed that since the real article and not just some picture was in front of her, her heart had gone crazy. She had, had a crush on Harry at finishing school. Yet she thought that with so much time having past by, she was over him.

Apparently not.

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Later that night, Ginny waited until she knew Ron would be alone. She stood in the door frame and when he tried to start talking she held up a hand. 

"I didn't come to argue. I only wanted to let you something. I could've askedHermione if I could've stayed with her. But I asked _you_ Ron, remember that." and with that, left.

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I'm sorry for the long update, but life got in the way. (Shrug) But I hope this was worth the wait! Don't forget to review! 


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